Types of major or clinical depression

Types of major or clinical depression

The people suffering from major or clinical depression (MDD) show varied symptoms. These people have certain specific features called as specifiers. According to these features the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has sub classified major depression into following categories:

1. Depression with anxious distress: when the depression is accompanied by anxiety and restlessness. The person remains depressed and worry about possible events, situations or fear of loss of control.

2. Depression with mixed features: when depression is accompanied with mania, where the person also develops feeling of self-esteem and increased energy and tends to talk too much.

3. Depression with melancholic features: depression is accompanied with intense and persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in things which once used to bring pleasure. The person develops hopelessness and many a times find difficulty to get through the day. The person may have worsened mood in the morning, feels irritable or fatigued with significant changes in appetite and sleep.

4. Depression with atypical features: where depression is accompanied with some unusual features where the mood of the person can improve with happy or positive situations. They may become extremely sensitive to rejections. These people may require extra sleep, shows increased appetite or weight gain.

5. Depression with psychotic features: depression occurs along with symptoms of psychosis. The depression is accompanied with delusions- where people develop false believes or hallucinations- where they see, hear or feel things that are not there. ,

6. Depression with catatonia: where depression is accompanied with abnormal movement or inability to move. The person may have meaningless and out of control movements or fixed posture.